PROJECT OVERVIEW

The Greek language is at the very core of Greek identity itself and yet it is facing increasing pressure throughout the Diaspora. At the current rate of decline, the Greek language will likely cease to be a living language within one or two generations. It is time for new approaches to this intractable problem that incorporates the latest in language pedagogy and educational technology. This new approach, which we’re calling “Rebooting the Greek Language”, will be a combined effort by over a dozen organizations and will feature the latest advances in mobile technology, including augmented reality,

a conversational user interface, fully localized content and revolutionary teaching methods based on smart learning analysis. SNF New Media Lab will provide ongoing support, maintenance, and upgrades for the years to come. We believe that this project will make a significant difference in the teaching and preservation of the Greek language in the Diaspora. Critical to the success of this project and the preservation of Greek as a living language in the Diaspora, is our revolutionary and innovative approach of using the latest in mobile technologies and pedagogical techniques.

Rebooting the Greek is an initiative for developing innovative tools and 21st pedagogy for teaching and learning Greek in the Diaspora.

It includes several elements, such as:

Pilot(s)

Preschool App(s)

Elementary School App(s)

Adult Learners App(s)

Communities of Practice

Rebooting the Greek Language is an initiative for developing innovative tools and 21st century pedagogy for teaching and learning Greek in the Diaspora
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CONTENT & PEDAGOGY

Who will use Rebooting Apps

Mobile App and Web platform is being designed as a complete solution for learners, parents and schools. This will include both interactive learning and study materials along with assessment tools and quizzes.
The app(s) will target specific learner groups separated by level and age. Learners will take a placement test before they begin Levels 1-3 to determine competency and skill level.

In addition to the learning application for children, the platform will also deliver parent participation guides, analytics and teacher (administrator) management tools.

Problems We Are Addressing

Greek isn’t being spoken as a second language thus conventional methods will not work.

Gamification of Learning (adopting features encountered in games to create more involving learning experiences)

METHODS OF IMPLEMENTATION

The app and platform is designed as a complementary learning resource, to be used in a variety of ways, depending on classroom conditions, students’ educational needs and teachers’ teaching style. There are three suggested general modes of implementation:

Complementary Teaching Resource

The content structure of the application is completely transparent to the teachers using it. The activities and assessments are organized under specific instructional goals, following a curriculum outline that has been adopted by widely used curricula on second language acquisition. The goals and skills included in the curriculum will appear in tree visualizations, showing all the dependencies between them. Therefore, the teachers may consult these representations and use the specific module that corresponds to their teaching objectives. Especially for the case of grammatical learning objectives, the gamification element of the app enhances the students’ motivation when accessing learning activities related to grammar and syntax.

Remediation

The app traces captures data from the learners, in order to determine their strengths and weaknesses in the domain of the Greek language, hence creating a detailed learner profile that is available to the teacher. The teacher may use this information to direct the learners to access the necessary modules, in order to improve their skills and their overall proficiency in the language.

‘Flipping the classroom’

This is one of the most interesting and rewarding modes of instruction, according to most studies in the field of instructional psychology and learning design. The teacher organize a series of in-classroom activities, based on specific instructional goals. The learners are required to complete parts of a module (or a whole module, depending on the teacher’s lesson plan), in order to prepare the necessary skills (vocabulary, functional grammar, discourse linguistic information) that will be required in these activities.

TECHNOLOGY

Rebooting the Greek is an initiative for developing innovative tools and 21st pedagogy for teaching and learning Greek in the Diaspora. It builds on 15+ years of R&D at the Hellenic Studies Centre at Simon Fraser University with the support of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation.

Critical to the success of this project and the preservation of Greek as a living language in the Diaspora, is our revolutionary and innovative approach of using the latest in mobile technologies and pedagogical techniques.

Student Modeling

the tutor will feature a component that will create individual learner profiles that will deliver a dynamic learning experience, customized to the student’s needs.

Localization

Our existing six levels of Greek language will be customized for strategic, regional markets, especially the United States, Canada, Australia, Europe, Turkey, and China.
Localization will enhance the learning experience and provide cultural context for the student.

Voice Technology (no-UI)

recent advances in the fields of artificial intelligence and machine learning will allow students to engage with the language app hands-free, in a chat interface.

Mixed Reality

Employing advances in Augmented and Virtual Reality, we will deliver new ways to see, experience and connect pedagogy and reality – at any location, at any time, at
any degree of abstraction.

The Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF)

The Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) is one of the world’s leading private, international philanthropic organizations, making grants in the areas of arts and culture, education, health and sports, and social welfare. Since 1996, the Foundation has committed more than $2.5 billion, through more than 4,000 grants to nonprofit organizations in 124 nations around the world.